Skullgirls for Numbskulls Act 5: Peacock

Credits:

Writers: Dean “Dean[SG]” Eddy, Thomas “Tomo009” Bishop.

Art and Photoshop: Swordsaint32, Dana “BreadKrew” Hare.

Consultation: McPeanuts, Dime_X

Sources: Skullheart, Shoryuken.

Character Intro:

Peacock is the game’s signature keep-away character, filling the screen with numerous walking bombs, impending overhead items and cartoony bullets, she can apply pressure from anywhere on the screen to keep your opponent blocking and bleeding!

Pros:

● Various projectiles for all areas of the screen.

● Fantastic meter build and Blockbuster/DHC options.

● Very versatile, can be played offensively or defensively in many situations.

Cons:

● Has a slight dead zone above and in front of her while the opponent is moving.

If they get close, (and they will), use Peacock’s teleports and mobility to maintain distance or switch to a more aggressive rushdown using close range Impending Doom to create mix-ups and using BANG! to re-create the distance.

s.LP has low range but is an important poke/pressure starter. Can be chained twice.

c.LP has a good, deceptively bigger hitbox. Can be chained twice.

j.LP has an deceptively small hitbox but is faster compared to her other air normals, making it very useful for her combos and pressure.

Light Kick

05, 13, 20~

s.LK is quite a good poke but slow, even for a light.

c.LK is not a low attack but is a good anti-air. Not amazing but it is the best she has.

j.LK is a 3 hit chainsaw. Very good for instant airdash overheads, pressure and adjusting height during combos.

Medium Punch

s.MP is long ranged but high recovery poke.

c.MP is a short ranged normal, mostly used in combos.

j.MP is a very good air poke, quite fast and has enough hitstun to air-dash cancel into combos.

Medium Kick

s.MK is Peacock’s launcher. Awkward hitbox that is mostly on the ground but has good range.

c.MK Peacock’s most used low. Drags in on hit doubling its use as a mixup and combo tool. It is quite slow however.

j.MK is a mid-hit that comes out of the ground in front of Peacock. Stalls Peacock in the air so it can be used for tricky mix-ups or just to avoid landing at a bad time.

Hard Punch

s.HP is Peacock’s main traditional projectile and can be cancelled freely into specials. It shuts down the opponent’s ground movement and is core to her typical lockdown pattern.

c.HP is a decent ranged low poke. Mostly used as a mixup option, but its large blockstun makes it perfect for cancelling into bombs for more pressure.

j.HP is used as an air poke that blows both the opponent AND Peacock backwards, creating a lot of space for Peacock.

Hard Kick

s.HK moves Peacock forward. Can position you for bomb pressure on block. Used often in Peacock corner combos.

c.HK is a fast moving slide that hits low and sweeps. Moves forward a long distance quickly so you can catch your opponent off guard and set up bombs or a shadow.

j.HK creates a horizontal projectile. An important wall out tool for Peacock. The vertical trajectory pretty much halts an opponent’s approach. Can be air dashes out of to create space or to set up left/right mixups.

Throws and Throw Follow-ups combos:

Ground Throw:

Peacock’s ground throw sends the opponent across the screen into a slide hard knock-down.

You could convert easily for a meter or two using Argus Agony combined with Impending Doom set up. Or you can set-up Peacock’s Okizeme game by setting up traps on their wake-up.

Air Throw

Peacock’s air throw sends the opponent up in an arc in the air. On the way down, j.LK can catch the opponent while decending.

Specials:

Bang, BANG! and BANG, BANG, BANG, QCF+P (236+P):

These are some of Peacock’s main aggressive tools.

LP.Bang is throw invincible and causes the opponent to stagger. Though rarely used, it can be easily followed up with a full combo unless the opponent is looking for the move to shake out of stagger.

MP.BANG! is Peacock’s only real reversal and is an important tool for her. Be wary that this move is not throw invincible and is purely horizontal and can be easily baited by jumping over Peacock. In the corner it can be followed up with an OTG combo.

HP.BANG, BANG, BANG is Peacock’s typical projectile zoning move that can be fired two additional times from extra button presses.

The recovery at the end of the move is far too long for it to be used often in neutral situations, instead it is used for its chip damage or in long range confirms for more damage.

George (Day out), (Boxcar), (Air Show), QCF+K (236+K):

Peacock’s Bombs are a main tool in her zoning and pressure patterns.

You can only have two of these bombs on screen at a time and cannot call another one until one or both have either hit or have gone off-screen and you can call additional bombs without addition stick input by pressing the second button after the motion.

LK.George’s Day Out has Peacock throw George on the ground in front of her from where he slowly walks the length of the screen. A very useful bomb to use as it lingers on screen, controlling space for a very long time. Great for close range pressure situations or to help cover your own approach.

MK.Boxcar George comes from the back of the screen and travels quickly, making it a very useful horizontal poke and will not lock Peacock out of bomb use for very long as moves across the screen very fast.

A common pressure tactic for Peacock is to cancel a blocked normal into Boxcar the Day Out, this will give Peacock frame advantage with few gaps.

HK.George at the Air Show comes from behind Peacock and travels in an arc towards the opponent’s position at the time it is created, covering the air space in front of Peacock and her opponent.

It is a critical part of her basic lockdown patterns and you will want this bomb available to you all the time.

Shadow of Impending Doom, QCB+P (214+P):

Peacock can press and hold down a Punch button to charge an item, placing a shadow on the stage, to one of 3 levels, then release the button to make an item fall where the shadow is placed

L Shadow appears right in front of Peacock in a fixed position, it is the least used, but can be used as a defensive wall.

M Shadow tracks the opponent for half of the screen closest to Peacock. It is probably the most useful overall as simply charging this shadow then dashing

forward puts huge pressure on the opponent. This shadow has many uses for lockdown as well as pressure and mixups.

H Shadow tracks the opponent for half of the screen furthest from Peacock. It is often used as part of Peacock’s basic zoning patterns to stop the opponent from jumping out.

The Hole Idea, Fire in the Hole QCB+K (214+K):

The Hole Idea is Peacocks teleport, she disappears into the ground and reappear at on the screen depending on the input.

L slightly moves Peacock forward , M moves Peacock in front of the opponent and H moves Peacock behind the opponent. If an assist is called on screen, H will act like M.

If you hold a P button while teleporting, it will create a bomb underneath the opponent and Peacock will reappear where she started.

Even though all of her teleports have periods of invincibility on start-up, they are very unreliable as reversals. Fake teleport does happen to be plus on block but Peacock can be thrown before the bomb even hits the opponent.

Blockbusters:

Argus Agony, QCF+PP (236+PP):

Argus Agony is a two part blockbuster, first is the fullscreen beam, followed by a barrage of smaller projectiles. There is a short period of time between the two parts, giving the opponent time to counter-attack.

On hit it also sends the opponent fullscreen to help create distance and you can continue to charge an Impending Doom during the move, allowing for additional follow ups.

Lonesome Lenny, QCF+KK (236+KK):

Creates a large bomb that has a set detonation time, anyone close to Lenny when it blows up, whether you or your opponent, will be dealt a tonne of damage and sent flying. Hitting Lenny will lower the detonation time and will push the bomb forward when hit. Argus Agony makes it automatically detonate at the end of the blockbuster.

Lenny is also an amazing, sort of safe, DHC option.

Goodfellows, QCB+PP (214+PP):

After a grab, you can perform this move to pull off the most badass animation sequence in the game. This IS risky as it involves you to neutral grab them and THEN perform the input so this is used mostly to show off.

When playing a Keep-away game with Peacock, you should know how to set up a projectile pattern, filling the screen with your projectiles that forces your opponent to either block or evade the onslaught.

Mr.Peck has put up a video that i will use to help demonstrate an effective projectile pattern that you can check out here!

s.HP, Air Show, Boxcar, s.HP (xx Assist), H. Impending >> repeat.

Resets & Burst Baits:

These are all thanks to McPeanuts and his Peacock compendium that you can check out for yourself here.

Peacock excels as a point character, chipping away at your opponent’s health and building meter for your team. For assists you can choose to maximize her horizontal cover with moves like Band’s Brass Knuckle, Painwheel’s M.Gae Bolga Stinger or Double’s H.Hornet Bomber. She also benefits from Invincible assists as well as anyone else and she pairs well with great Anchor characters like Big Band and Double.

She has a few good assist options such as George’s day out, allowing any character to gain a safe approach. Along with any of her other bombs, S.HP or even her Grab.